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Elementary Particle and Nuclear Reaction Lab (Double Beta Decay Experiment CANDLES)
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The lab searches for neutrinoless double beta decay in the underground Kamioka laboratory.
AboutAbout the lab
Double beta decay: searching for the origin of matter.
CANDLES, the double beta decay experiment of the Elementary Particle and Nuclear Reaction Group, searches for neutrinoless double beta decay.
By testing whether particles and antiparticles can convert into one another, the lab looks for clues to why the universe is made of matter rather than antimatter.
Because this decay is extremely rare, the detector uses a large amount of high-purity calcium fluoride (fluorite) containing 48Ca.
The CANDLES detector is installed in the Kamioka Underground Laboratory (Institute for Cosmic Ray Research, the University of Tokyo) in Hida, Gifu Prefecture.
Key terms
- Double beta decay
- A process in which two neutrons in a nucleus convert into two protons and two electrons. There is also a type that emits no neutrinos.
- Majorana particle
- A particle with the property that particle and antiparticle can convert into each other. If the neutrino is one, neutrinoless double beta decay can occur.
- Background
- Noise that enters the detector apart from the decay to be measured. It must be reduced sufficiently to measure a rare decay.
- 48Ca
- One of the nuclei that undergo double beta decay. The summed energy of the two electrons is higher than that of environmental radiation, so it is easy to measure with low noise.
ResearchResearch themes
The lab aims to observe neutrinoless double beta decay, which occurs if the neutrino is a Majorana particle. Because the decay is extremely rare, the lab is developing a detector that combines a large amount of double-beta-decay nuclei with a low-noise environment.
*Illustrative imageDouble Beta Decay and the Difficulty of Measuring It
Double beta decay that emits two antineutrinos occurs within the Standard Model. Neutrinoless decay occurs only if the neutrino is a Majorana particle, and its decay rate is even smaller, so measures are needed to reduce the background sufficiently.
*Illustrative imageCANDLES, a Low-Noise Detector
To measure a large number of double-beta-decay nuclei with low noise, the lab first develops a low-noise detector and then increases the number of nuclei through enrichment. It uses calcium fluoride crystals containing 48Ca as the main detector, and is also designing and building a production system for 48Ca with a higher enrichment level.
MembersFaculty
The members of the CANDLES experiment are collaborators from the Research Center for Nuclear Physics and the Graduate School of Science at Osaka University, as well as from the University of Fukui, the University of Tsukuba, Tokushima University, Osaka Sangyo University, Saga University, the Wakasa Wan Energy Research Center, and the Institute for Cosmic Ray Research at the University of Tokyo.
- ProfessorSaori Umehara
- Project ProfessorTadafumi Kishimoto
- Project ProfessorMasaharu Nomachi
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “MINERvA Neutrino Detector 2011” KeysPhotography.com / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Double Beta Decay and the Difficulty of Measuring It: “IceCube Neutrino Observatory in 2023 02” Christopher Michel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- CANDLES, a Low-Noise Detector: “Calciumfluoritecrystal” Jennii Burrell / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Particle and Nuclear Reaction Group (Laser Electron Photon Experiments LEPS/LEPS2) Lab): “Columbia University Nevis Lab linear particle accelerator, beam injector. (photo mosaic)” CUBIST DEBRIS / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (Particle and Nuclear Reaction Group (J-PARC Charm Hadron Spectroscopy Experiment) Lab): “J-PARC Hadron Experimental Facility 4” Kestrel / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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